Vaccinations Are Beginning, But Some Parents Say 'No'

Despite Safety Assurances, Fears Of Side Effects Persist

October 20, 2009|By Bob LaMendola and Diane C. Lade Staff Writers

South Florida students, adults and pregnant women rolled up their sleeves and tilted their noses back to get some of the first swine flu vaccines Monday, the start of the region's large-scale vaccination program.

But many families were saying 'no,' worried that the vaccine could cause side effects or make people sick, problems that health officials said are minor and uncommon.

At Westpine Middle School in Sunrise, one of the first six Broward County schools to get vaccine, only about 530 of 1,500 students had parental consent to be vaccinated. Teachers herded kids into the media center to get shots and nasal spray doses.

"It was easy," seventh-grader Patricia Hall, 13, said of the nasal spray. "No shot. I hate needles. But you don't want to get this flu. From what I hear, it can be deadly."

The new strain of H1N1 swine flu virus has killed 16 people in Broward and Palm Beach counties and hospitalized 130 this year.

South Florida has 92,000 vaccine doses - 34,000 in Broward County and 28,500 in Palm Beach County - to start inoculating an estimated 2 million people in high-priority groups. The groups include young people ages 6 months to 24 years, pregnant women, caretakers of babies under 6 months, people with chronic illness and health care workers.

Palm Beach County chose not to roll out its swine flu vaccination program in classrooms but instead will do so in its seven clinics and through visits to neighborhoods where large numbers of people do not have doctors. Officials said private physicians or walk-in clinics should be the main source for people to get vaccinated.

The Health Department vaccinated dozens of children and adults at its first outreach visit, at Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in West Palm Beach. Delray Beach Health Center received about 400 doses to use on its patients, but other people arrived throughout the day looking for shots. They were told to make an appointment or come back.

The department's telephone center had such a big volume of calls Monday morning that it had to shut down briefly.

"There's definitely a high interest," said Timothy O'Connor, a Health Department spokesman.

But there is also resistance. Many parents and students said they are concerned the vaccine was too new to experiment with or they were not too worried about the swine flu, which has been mostly mild so far.

Westpine eighth-grader Brittany Sanguinetti, 14, said her parents refused to allow her to get the vaccine at school Monday but were taking her to a pediatrician today to discuss getting it.

"We want to ask the doctor what the side effects are," Brittany said. "Our health could be in danger either way from the flu or the vaccine, so we have to be careful."

Ashley Jones, a Pompano Beach parent, did not let her daughter get vaccinated at Coconut Creek High even though the girl has asthma and is considered at higher risk for complications from flu. Jones said the chance of the vaccine causing a mild illness was worse than the risk of flu.

"I worry the vaccine would give her a small sickness and she'd have to stay home from school, and I'd have to stay home from work," Jones said.

Health officials said they were not disappointed by the reluctance, saying many may be waiting to see how the vaccine performs.

Dr. C. Rocky Slonaker, medical director of Pediatric Associates, the region's largest children's practice, said he estimates 30 to 40 percent of parents would allow children to get swine flu vaccine - about the same as seasonal flu vaccine.

Slonaker said many parents have misconceptions about the vaccine. It is new, but it's made the same way all flu shots have been manufactured for decades: The virus is grown in eggs and extracted for the vaccine. In trials, it behaved as did past flu vaccines, with the most common side effects being muscle soreness and swelling at the site of the shot, tiredness and low-grade fever for a day or two.

Health officials also say the vaccine cannot cause the flu.

Some formulations contain thimerosal, a preservative that contains mercury that worries some parents despite a lack of hard evidence of any health risks, but only thimerosal-free vaccine is used in children.

Bob LaMendola can be reached at blamendola@SunSentinel.com, 954-356-4526 or 561-243-6600, ext. 4526.

INFORMATIONAL BOX:

Vaccination information

Check with your doctor or clinic: They will be the best sources for vaccinations. Hundreds have or will have vaccine.

Florida Department of Health at myflusafety.com or 877-352-3581.

All South Florida health departm ents at www.fightfluflorida.com; Broward at 954-467-4705; Palm Beach at 888-411-4358.